Indian refiners bought ₹2.5 billion (₹25,597 crore) worth of Russian crude in September, trailing China’s ₹3.2 billion, according to Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
India was also the second-largest buyer of Russian coal and refined fuels, with total fossil imports of ₹3.6 billion, behind China’s ₹5.5 billion. Overall, China ranked first among Russian fossil fuel buyers, followed by India, Turkiye, the EU and South Korea.
China was the largest importer of Russian crude, LNG, and coal, while Turkiye led in refined oil products and pipeline gas.
The Trump administration has been pressuring New Delhi to curb Russian oil imports, arguing they fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Washington even imposed a 25 per cent additional tariff on Indian exports to the US as a penalty for Russian oil purchases, though no similar action was taken against other buyers.
India’s crude imports from Russia fell 9 per cent sequentially in September to their lowest since February due to a 38 per cent drop in purchases by state-run refiners – the lowest since May 2022.
In addition to crude, India also bought ₹452 million worth of coal and ₹344 million of refined oil products, while China imported ₹784 million of coal, ₹658 million of pipeline gas, and ₹487 million of LNG. India did not buy any gas from Russia that month.
Turkiye was the third-largest importer, with ₹2.6 billion of Russian fossil fuel imports including ₹1 billion in pipeline gas and ₹542 million in crude. Its imports of oil products fell 27 per cent sequentially, mainly due to reduced Russian diesel exports after Ukraine’s attacks disrupted product output.
The EU imported ₹743 million of LNG and pipeline gas and ₹311 million of crude oil from Russia.
With total purchases of ₹283 million, South Korea ranked fifth among Russian fossil fuel buyers.
